Parma

The journey

Time of War, Time for Peace

We live in difficult times, and these times are, for many inhabitants of our planet, violent and dramatic.

After two years of pandemics, we wake up with a war happening in Europe. This event could not be ignored by The European Jazz Workshop. As musicians participating in the project, we are working to create and develop a common European culture which wants to speak to all humanity through the only army we can and want to use: the universal language of music and poetry.

In July 2022, Twenty young musicians from different countries and from the five academies came together in Parma to play together, know each other, improvise, compose and perform. The band met again in the last week of September, to continue to rehearse the music and play the final concert of the European Jazz Workshop project. The concert was held on October 1st in Teatro Farnese, and you can watch the whole concert here.

In the Parma session of The European Jazz Workshop, the main goal was to investigate the relationship between composition and improvisation, both through written notation and improvised chironomy.

We explored moving from the idea of creating a composition for improvisation towards thinking of improvisation as composition in real time.

PARMA From Conservatorio A. Boito, Parma

Pietro Vecchi (reeds – tenor/bari sax)
Leonardo Badiali (drums)
Domenico Mobrici  (reeds - bari sax)
Angela Malagisi (vocals)

Alberto Leoni  (composer)
Giuseppe Scalici  (composer) 

From Hochschule für Musik und Theater, Hamburg

Francisco Perez Colon (violin)
Esther Thoben (cello)
Cansu Arat (vocals)
Johannes Knoll (trumpet)

From Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Glasgow

Rosalind Orr (reeds – alto sax)
Alexander William Handyside (guitar)
Garry Simpson (drums)

From Norges Musikkhøgskole, Oslo

Martin Tvedten (piano)
Maria Dybbroe (reeds – sop/alto/bari-sax)
Ingrid Berg Medhus (violin)
Øyvind Solheim (trumpet)

From Hochschule für Musik, Nürnberg

Michael Reiss (reeds – tenor sax)
Fabius Mey (trombone)
Paul Laga (vibes)
Nataliia Zaichenko (bass)
Sonja Barth (violin)

Roberto Bonati - conductor and concept

The European Jazz Workshop will play "Time of war, time for peace" during the Parma Frontiere Festival, on October 1 in Teatro Farnese.